1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mobile communication terminals, and in particular, to a mobile communication terminal with a multi-function key.
2. Description of the Related Art
A mobile communication terminal such as a mobile telephone has numeric keys for inputting (pressing) a phone number to be dialed and various data, and a plurality of function keys. The function keys include a SEND key for starting (i.e., making or answering) a call, a END key for ending the call, a MENU key for setting various functions, a STO (store) key for storing the phone numbers and various setting values, a RCL (recall) key for reading a stored phone number and displaying the read phone number on a display, and a CLR (clear) key. Moreover, the mobile communication terminal may have a voice mail key and other function keys according to its use and features. In such a case, too many keys are disposed on the limited front panel of the mobile communication terminal.
In general, a subscriber (or user) of the mobile telephone stores, in advance, frequently called phone numbers in a memory of the mobile telephone and then reads, when necessary, the stored phone numbers to display them on the display. To this end, the user should first input (or press) the STO key to store a phone number and then input the RCL key to read the stored phone number and display the read phone number on the display. That is to say, the user should use the two separate function keys of the STO key and the RCL key. When the mobile telephone has so many function keys, the user may have trouble in memorizing and utilizing the unique functions of the respective function keys. Further, it is difficult to reduce the mobile telephone in size.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a mobile communication terminal with a multi-function key which serves as both a store key and a recall key.
To achieve the above object, a mobile communication terminal comprises a multi-function key; a memory for storing, in a function allocation table, input conditions of the multi-function key and corresponding functions for the respective input conditions; and a controller for determining a function of the multi-function key based on the function allocation table, when the multi-function key is pressed according to a given input condition.
Further, the mobile communication terminal includes a memory for storing messages for informing a user about the determined function, and a display for displaying a message for informing the user of the determined function.
The controller includes a flag, and sets the flag according to the function determined for the multi-function key.